Remember when we shared the news yesterday that the Buffalo Bills made NFL history by hiring Kathryn Smith as the NFL’s very first female full-time football coach? That was pretty cool, right? Apparently some sports talk show radio hosts didn’t think so, because was only a matter of hours before they were ranting and raving into their microphones about how dumb they thought this move was.
According to Mediaite, Kevin Kiley, the morning drive host for Cleveland’s 92.3 “The Fan” WKRK-FM went on an insufferable rant against Smith and the Bills organization. The only thing more absurd than the rant itself is how many times Kiley says the word “absurd.” It’s like when you keep saying your name until it doesn’t make sense to you anymore–absurd no longer has any meaning to me. That’s just absurd, isn’t it?
You can listen to the full radio show on Deadspin, but Kiley’s rant boils down to this: because women can’t “be imposing” on the field, they’re not qualified to even be on the field. He believes that there’s a physical edge to football, and to a point, he’s right–football is literally a game about mashing bodies together. But Smith won’t be doing that, and she doesn’t need to. He questions her qualifications because she’s a woman–that’s sexism at work, folks.
What personally really pissed me off was when Kiley referred to Smith as “Caitlyn,” which was a totally uncalled for jab at both Smith and Caitlyn’s womanhoods. Sorry, pardon my language, but fuck that.
Here’s the thing about all of this: Kiley attacks Smith’s qualifications on the basis that she’s a woman and is thus “at a loss when it comes to the reference points of football.” I took this to mean that she’s at a loss as a coach because she hasn’t played football. But what about Kiley? He claims to have played football for the New York Jets, and then for Chicago Fire in the World Football League. Hmm…
According to Pro-Football-Reference.com this is no record of him ever appearing for the Jets and his one contribution to the Chicago Fire is a single kick return for 13 yards. The University of Wyoming’s football media guide does not list him among their all-time lettermen.
The thing is, he may have played college ball and all, but as far as professional football experience and qualification goes, he’s on the same level as Smith at best. He’s only ever made a name for himself on the radio, never on the sidelines as a coach. Granted, he’s probably got years on her, but times have changed, buddy.
What’s painfully obvious is that Kiley hasn’t.
(image via Shutterstock/blambca)
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